- April 18, 2024
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Jim Drake graduated from Mainland High School in 1967 and upon graduation, he and a group of friends decided they would join the Navy to serve their country.
Then in 1968, Drake's unit was called up and at the end of May he was shipped out to Vietnam for 12 months with a Naval support group in a combat zone.
Drake said that when he returned to the U.S. he and other members of the military weren't appreciated and they didn't receive the welcome home many had hoped to hear. For years Drake didn't even talk about the war with his children.
However, as the years went by, that started to change. Veterans started hearing the words "welcome home" and "thank you;" those that served started telling their stories and memorials were put up to commemorate the lives lost during the war. One memorial was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that was constructed in Washington D.C. and has more than 58,000 names of the men and women who were killed or missing in action during the war.
Drake had never seen the memorial. But that changed when Port Orange Councilman and history teacher Chase Tramont took a group of students from Spruce Creek High to Washington D.C. in June. Drake was asked to join them and accepted the invitation.
The trip took the group of 16 students to many of the country's historical sites as well as the very place that Drake had heard of but never seen in person: the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Drake describes that moment he was at the wall as a humbling experience.
"To see that wall with the amount of names on it, I can't even explain it," Drake said. "It's like the wall is alive when you touch it. It's sobering."
And not all of the names were unfamiliar. Drake found the name of a high school friend who had served, there were also the names of 45 Volusia County personnel that died in Vietnam.
Tramont said that for the students, the trip wasn't just about looking at memorials, it was about these one-time moments as well. And this particular moment was special for the students as Drake has visited the classes to talk about his experience in the Vietnam War.
"You got to involve them in the process of witnessing Jim at the wall for the first time," Tramont said. "We not only showed them, we involved them. Not only will they never forget, they will truly understand the magnitude of that moment that was shared."
For Dakota Douphin and Kevon Johnson, who were both on the trip, there was one more aspect in addition to this part of the trip that was unforgettable to them as well. And that was saying "welcome home" to the veterans they saw on the trip.
"We appreciated everything," Douphin said. "It was pretty cool to have the honor to shake their hand."
